Water under the bridge

When the city of Monroe finally gave approval for the Belle Pointe subdivision to be built in the Chauvin Basin near River Oaks, the concerns were about the floodplain and whether the pumping capacity had adequately been upgraded to protect the homeowners.

Once the subdivision was approved, the development of executive homes in the area began. The tree-shaded lots and quiet streets, not far from conveniences like a new public playground and the Monroe Athletic Center, made Belle Pointe a desirable location for families.

But none of those homeowners anticipated the unpleasant surprise that a rain brings.

Raw sewage overflows - an estimated 15,000 gallons of it - into the neighborhood, and until the toxic mess is cleaned up, the children can't go outside to play.

The Department of Environmental Quality says the city of Monroe is quite prompt about cleaning up the mess each time it rains, but we must wonder why this issue - as well as sewage backup problems in other low points of the city - is not a top priority for being repaired.

Belle Pointe residents this week met with members of Monroe's Capital Infrastructure Commission, which recommends projects to the city, and asked that a north area sewer pump project move to the top of the priority list and become urgent.

From a public health standpoint, we would second that request for high, urgent priority. And until this problem is fixed, the homeowners and their property values are stuck in a pool of that which runs downhill.

The project is expected to cost $14 million, but it appears the city has a fund balance in its capital infrastructure account that would allow the project to move forward without borrowing. The commission expects to make a recommendation to the city in a month.

In the interim, every time it rains, the city will be sending trucks to pump the sewage out, and the sewer division just this week lowered the manhole so that overflow is contained in a controlled environment, said sewer manager Charles Westrom.

The health concern is not just for residents who might be exposed to toxic fluid, but also for the city workers who must repeatedly work with this mess.

One might ask why the city allowed, annexed and accepted a subdivision in a floodplain. But that's water under the bridge now.

The city is on the hook for providing essential services like water and sewer to its citizens, and whatever mistakes were made in the engineering review of the subdivision plans and requirements of the developer will now be borne by the taxpayers.

The editorials in this column represent the opinions of The News-Star's editorial board, composed of President and Publisher David B. Petty, Executive Editor Kathy Spurlock and community representatives Kay Prince, Billy Haddad and Dan Robertson.

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Water under the bridge

When the city of Monroe finally gave approval for the Belle Pointe subdivision to be built in the Chauvin Basin near River Oaks, the concerns were about the floodplain and whether the pumping